Merrithew Power and Stamina: Medicine Ball Interval Training

excellent

First off, yes there's some time between when you hit play and when the exercises start. Luckily for us, we have these things called remote controls to fast forward. Once you get to the workout, it's great! I was so happy to find a video that was straight forward and didn't make anything too complicated. I like how the exercises are broken down. You do a brief warmup and then do two sets of three different exercises, the first set is a little slower and the second is pretty quick. You do 3 series of differnet exercises two sets each. This can be for beginners, or slightly more advanced but with a heavier ball. Total run time from the first exercise to the end of the cool down is 28 minutes. I like to turn off the TV volume and crank up my own music, the exercises go in order so there's no way to get off track. I'll for sure be buying the other DVDs of this set!

What a fantastic workout with a wonderful trainer!!!! I have to tell you, I workout a lot. I run, jog, do the elliptical, lift heavy weights, do chin-ups, push-ups, I go nuts and THIS workout, it really made me have MORE definition in my arms and, well, whole body. Awesome. Now, I lift heavy, yet an 8 pound medicine ball was challenging, since I never use them. Holding it so still, over your head, in certain positions....amazing. I would recommend to anyone looking for something different, something extra, to super tone your body!

5 stars plus for the instructor in the video John Garey. I have several DVDs from the Merrithew collection and he is by far the best at giving simple, easy to follow instruction with good workouts. In this video he incorporates the medicine ball with a series of squats, lunges, planks, roll-up type sit-ups, side-ab twists on the floor and a single arm lifts with the medicine ball in hand.I think the key to getting a good workout is using the correct weight medicine ball. The instructor suggests starting with a 4 or 6 pound ball and working up from there (Vol. 1 DVD). The woman featured in the video used a 4 pound ball, the men used 6 pounds. I'm about 200 pounds and do crossfit and was able to use the 6 pound ball just fine but felt I could go heavier. My girlfriend is almost 120 pounds and a volleyball player. She did the workout with the 4 pound ball but didn't get much out of it. When she switched to the 6 she said it was great.I'm going to purchase a heavier medicine ball and to test how heavy a ball I need I held a weight in one hand and put that arm out straight to my side. I then lifted the weight over my head and back down again 6 times without loosing form, this is the weight ball I'm going with and this exercise mimics one in the program that I think would be most challenging in terms of weight since it uses just one arm. Just remember, it has to be the type of medicine ball that bounces like the one pictured on the cover. Everyone is at their own fitness level so this may help you figure out what weight ball to get but I would recommend going lighter if in doubt since form is more important than weight.The video is 32 minutes in length. The reason I'm giving this workout only 4 stars is that you have to sit through about 2 minutes of advertising/promotions for other Merrithew products before getting to the actual workout (you can't fast forward through all of it). I think this is pretty inconsiderate to the consumer who buys a DVD to use multiple times. It's fine to include promotional material but it should be at the end of the workout, not the beginning.

A short workout that pushes you. I like the addition of the medicine ball because it targets specific muscles and helps with balance.

I am a moderately fit person. I ride my bike about 45 minutes 3 times per week and do yoga for 30 minutes once or twice per week. I was thinking that this would not be an intense enough workout. I was wrong. This DVD takes you through three short routines and it goes through each routine twice. At first I can only go through the first two routines once each. I simply rest and do some stretches when I can't keep up. I can see that it really will build "power and stamina" if a person can do all three routines, twice through. Another thing is that the medicine balls come in 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 pounds. At first I bought a small softball size 4 pounder. That was too small for the exercises here. You need the type in the DVD that are about the size of a soccer ball. I over estimated my ability and started with the 6 pound ball. I should have started at 4 pounds. You will be surprised how heavy a 4 pound ball can become. That is part of the goal. First, get through all the routines twice, then start increasing the weight of the ball. Wow, if I could go through everything twice, building up to a 12 pound ball, that would be really great. I only gave it 4 stars. Why you ask. The workout and instruction are great. The workout will definately improve power and stamina and I think the core strength and balance of everyone accept the most fit athlete. The issue I have is the DVD of course forces you to watch the intro (commercials and advertisements) before each workout. Of course if you do it enough you eventually won't need the DVD. Also I start the DVD then get my ball and mat (yoga mat) set up during the commercial. So, the one star ding does not have to do with the quality of what the DVD is supposed to do. I really would recommend this. But, start with the small ball and move up.